O.J. Simpson vs. The People of California: How Technology Changed Media Coverage Forever

Last month, I took the SAT for the last time. I didn’t go to school the day before because I knew I had to “prepare” for the exam. Yeah, I know quite a bit about procrastination. After taking a practice SAT subject test, I went downstairs to eat lunch and turned on the TV. A commercial for The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story popped up. I had remembered hearing about how the show had won a couple Emmys and was critically acclaimed etc. I didn’t have anything to do for the rest of the day, so I decided to give the show a shot. I went upstairs and turned on my computer. I logged into my Netflix and clicked on the first episode. It was about 13 hours later that I took the headphones off of my head and stared out the window, lost in thought. I glanced at the clock, it was near midnight, and I finally decided that I had to sleep. I woke up the next day around 6 a.m. and headed off to my SAT testing center. On an unrelated note, I was expecting to do awful on the SAT because I barely got any sleep, but I actually got my highscore that day.

Growing up, I always used to remember my father talking about the O.J. Simpson trial at length. He was in college during the trials, so he remembers the entire case in extraordinary detail. His college was in the Detroit area, which during the 1990s was predominantly black, so he was able to experience the trial from that perspective as well. My father stated that initially O.J. garnered a lot of support, but as the trial wore on, many were becoming dissuaded and restless with the length of the trial, and towards the end, many believed that he had committed the crimes. I asked my father whether he believed O.J. Simpson was guilty of the crimes, and he said that “without a doubt, he is.”

So, I decided to do some of my own research. On June 13, 1994, the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found dead outside of Nicole’s Brentwood home. On June 17, Orenthal James Simpson was wanted for the murder. Following events such as the iconic Ford Bronco Chase through the freeways of Los Angeles, and “if the glove don’t fit, then you must acquit,” Orenthal James Simpson was acquitted of all counts of murder more than a year later on October 3, 1995. The innocence stemmed from a variety of reasons, but primarily because of the prosecution's incompetence, one of the lead detectives Mark Fuhrman’s entire testimony was subject to scrutiny because he was deemed a racist, and because of the one too many holes in the evidence that the Los Angeles Police Department collected.

The anthology series did a fantastic job of portraying the trial. The show managed to stay relatively unbiased while also going greatly into the details of the case. There were standout performances from David Schwimmer, Courtney Vance, Sarah Paulson, Sterling Brown, and John Travolta. The only issues I had were with the casting of Cuba Gooding as O.J. Simpson. Gooding’s voice was a little too whiny, and he is nowhere near as physically imposing as Simpson was in real life.

The aspect where the series shined the most was the portrayal of how technology changed the way the media and the news is reported forever. The series begins with live footage of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. These riots stemmed directly from the assault of Rodney King by the LAPD during a traffic stop. There has certainly been police brutality incidents in the past, but this time, the entire sequence was caught on tape. Not only did this bring to light the incorrect practices of the LAPD, but it also was proof of the assault. The media coverage of the Rodney King case was more extensive than court trials of the past. Because of the incredible media coverage, when all officers were acquitted of any police brutality charges, riots erupted. The riots also were covered widely by the media. Similarly, the O.J. Simpson case is known as the trial of the century because of the widespread media coverage. For one, many people became personally invested in the case because the entirety of the trial was televised. People were able to choose sides because of the plethora of information at hand.

There are pros and cons to the widespread improvement in technology and media coverage. Some of the good that has come from this technology is that it became a lot harder to get away with wrongdoings. While the officers in the Rodney King case were acquitted, the media coverage brought to light the misconduct of the LAPD. The downside is that those that control the media, can put their own slant on reports. They can control how the general public perceives events. For example, during the Rodney King riots, the primarily black rioters were vilified by the media, leading to increased tension between races. During the O.J. Simpson, the entire focus of the trial at times shifted from the trial to something completely unrelated. For example, Marcia Clark’s appearance and hair was under media scrutiny.

On that note, one of the main reasons that O.J. Simpson maintained some degrees of support during the trials was because of the media. The in-court antics and personality of Marcia Clark during the trial were frowned upon by the majority of the public. And the general public disliked Marcia Clark because of her cold personality and character. The media coverage of the trial, made it more important than ever for the lawyers to not only put forth sound, logical arguments, but at the same time be likeable and charismatic. Purely based on the dislike of the prosecution team, Simpson managed to maintain a some public support during the trial.

This is a great example of media bias.

If you lived in the 90s and you picked up the Time edition, you would be more likely to find Simpson guilty than if you had picked up the Newsweek edition. This is a clear example of how media outlets can add their own slant to news coverage. The Time edition on the right has the contrast boosted quite a bit, this literally shadows Simpson in guilt. While the one on the right has not been edited. Newsweek gave Simpson the benefit of the doubt, while Time offered no such courtesy.

Technology has certainly improved the way that we receive information. During the Las Vegas shooting for example, there were constant updates and this helped people find their loved ones. But, improvements in technology also gives media the ability to write their own stories. We just need be wary.